Wood Rabbit

Lunar New Year fell on Feb 3. Anyone born before that date belongs to the previous year (Tiger).

Rabbits are good at standing slightly outside the frame and watching the room. They notice who has lost their voice and whose laugh is being pushed out, and they file it away without saying so. They speak with a margin, decline by the side door, and cannot bring themselves to embarrass anyone. First impressions say gentle and easy. The hidden part is how selective that gentleness is. Good manners are not the absence of judgment, and once a line is crossed they leave so cleanly that it takes you a moment to notice.

Xin is fine metal with a narrow edge, Mao the rabbit with long ears and a light step. The pine's branch looks thin, bends under pressure, and springs back when the hand lets go. People like this avoid collision and speak softly, yet the bottom line does not move. They can bend and stretch, finding a way through difficulty faster than anyone. Others take them for easy marks, then discover that at the decisive point they do not yield a step. They keep a relationship from stiffening, giving way until the last step: light voice, real weight.